IP TAKE: This funder offers an open application platform, making it one of the more approachable cancer research funders out there. As the amount of research dollars available for pancreatic cancer research is comparatively sparse, applicants should expect a good deal of competition when applying for a grant here.

PROFILE: When Pamela Acosta Marquardt’s mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1996, she only found one helpful resource, an online discussion board hosted by a pathologist at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. This lack of available information and support led Marquardt and cofounders Paula Kim and Terry Lierman to establish the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) in 1999. The overall mission of PanCan is to develop and build a network of people “working together to advance research, support patients, and create hope for those affected by pancreatic cancer.” Since those fledgling days, PanCan has grown quite a bit, collecting around $36 million in revenue last year.

PanCan’s primary mission is to double the survival rate of pancreatic cancer by 2020. It operates its own outreach and advocacy programs, but also gives a number of research grants annually. These include catalyst grants to support “junior faculty to conduct pancreatic cancer research and establish successful career paths in the field,” translational research grants, career development awards, early detection targeted grants, fellowship awards, innovative grants (formerly known as pilot grants), pathway to leadership grants, precision medicine target grants, and Research Acceleration Network (RAN) grants. Its current research priorities are the biology and etiology of pancreatic cancer, prevention, early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

PanCan’s awards range from $300,000 to $1,000,000 for periods of two to five years. Grantseekers can learn more about past grantees here.

PanCan accepts unsolicited applications for awards with open Requests for Proposals. Visit the foundation’s Funding Opportunities page to see which programs are currently open.